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Biomass pre-treatment is a key step in achieving the economic competitiveness of biomass conversion. In the present work, an imidazole pre-treatment process was performed and evaluated using wheat straw and eucalyptus residues as model feedstocks for agriculture and forest-origin biomasses, respectively. Results showed that imidazole is an efficient pre-treatment agent; however, better results were obtained for wheat straw due to the recalcitrant behavior of eucalyptus residues. The temperature had a stronger effect than time on wheat straw pre-treatment but at 160 °C and 4 h, similar results were obtained for cellulose and hemicellulose content from both biomasses (ca. 54% and 24%, respectively). Lignin content in the pre-treated solid was higher for eucalyptus residues (16% vs. 4%), as expected. Enzymatic hydrolysis, applied to both biomasses after different pre-treatments, revealed that results improved with increasing temperature/time for wheat straw. However, these conditions had no influence on the results for eucalyptus residues, with very low glucan to glucose enzymatic hydrolysis yield (93% for wheat straw vs. 40% for eucalyptus residues). Imidazole can therefore be considered as a suitable solvent for herbaceous biomass pre-treatment.

According to the European Commission, green infrastructure (GI) is conceived as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas. This definition highlights three important issues: environment protection, ecosystems multifunctionality and ecological connectivity. Building upon a methodology that identifies a Sardinian regional GI in relation to four values (conservation value, natural value, recreational value and landscape value), this study aims at assessing the suitability of areas situated within and outside protected areas’ boundaries to be included in the above-mentioned Sardinian regional GI. In relation to conservation value, outcomes reveal a higher suitability of patches situated within protected areas to be included in the regional GI, whereas in relation to the other three values, the behavioral patterns are less evident. These results suggest specific policy recommendations such as mitigation of land-taking processes, increase of Natura 2000 Network’s size, accurate identification of landscape goods, and improved accessibility to sites characterized by outstanding natural beauty.

Nature-based solutions have not been able to actively involve citizens and to address successfully food security, poverty alleviation, and inequality in urban areas. The Edible City approach promises a strategic step towards the development of sustainable, livable, and healthy cities. We introduce the conceptional framework of Edible City Solutions (ECS), including different forms of urban farming combined with closed loop systems for sustainable water, nutrient, and waste management. We review scientific evidence on ECS benefits for urban regeneration and describe the status quo of ECS in Rotterdam, Andernach, Oslo, Heidelberg, and Havana as case studies. We provide an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to explore the capacity of ECS to enhance multifunctionality of urban landscapes with special focus on social cohesion and quality of life. Based on this we identify and discuss strategies for fostering socially relevant implementations for the case study cities and beyond.

Farm-level sustainable intensification of agriculture (SIA) has become an important concept to ensuring food security while minimising negative externalities. However, progress towards its achievement is often constrained by the different perceptions and goals of various stakeholders that affect farm management decisions. This study examines farm-level SIA as a dynamic system with interactive components that are determined by the interests of the stakeholders involved. A systems thinking approach was used to identify and describe the pathways towards farm-level SIA across the three main pillars of sustainability. An explanatory network analysis of fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) that were collectively created by representative groups of farmers, farm advisors and policy makers was performed. The study shows that SIA is a complex dynamic system, affected by cognitive beliefs and particular knowledge within stakeholder groups. The study concludes that, although farm-level SIA is a complex process, common goals can be identified in collective decision making.

Islands are often considered excellent socio-ecological laboratories for testing the rapidity of global change since they experience the climate effects of sea-level rise faster than other areas. The Azores are a Portuguese volcanic archipelago located on the junction of the three tectonic plates: the Eurasian, the African and the North American plates. São Miguel, the main island of the Azores archipelago, hosts three active volcanoes, but the last significant volcanic eruption was the Capelinhos volcano on the island of Faial in 1957. Hence, the Azores offers the opportunity to assess insular risk awareness, facing both telluric and climate-related hazards. The key research question emerges from their natural situation: how does the local population perceive the threat of the natural hazards that occur in Azores? Because risks are socially constructed and depend on the uniqueness of territories, risk mitigation strategies must focus on the individual experiences of local dwellers, as a relationship between risk awareness and such strategies may be expected. To analyze this relationship, a web-based survey with a questionnaire including these variables was administered to a sample of Azoreans. The study aimed to assess risk awareness of the Azorean population and find a relationship between this and reported mitigation strategies. The results gave a preliminary insight into Azorean risk awareness of natural hazards and showed a significant positive relationship between risk awareness-raising activities and reported mitigation strategies. This is relevant information for municipalities and regional governments of areas with similar risk exposures, showing that, although risk awareness alone is not enough for measures to be implemented, it may be an important motivational first step for this to occur.

The bioeconomy can play a critical role in helping countries to find alternative sustainable sources of products and energy. Countries with diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems will see diverging feedstock opportunities to develop these new value chains. Understanding the sources, composition, and regional availability of these biomass feedstocks is an essential first step in developing new sustainable bio-based value chains. In this paper, an assessment and analysis of regional biomass availability was conducted in the diverse regions of Andalusia and Ireland using a bioresource mapping model. The model provides regional stakeholders with a first glance at the regional opportunities with regards to feedstock availability and an estimate of the transportation costs associated with moving the feedstock to a different modelled location/region for the envisioned biorefinery plant. The analysis found that there were more than 30 million tonnes of (wet weight) biomass arisings from Ireland (84,000 km2) with only around 4.8 million tonnes from the Andalusian region (87,000 km2). The study found that Cork in Ireland stood out as the main contributor of biomass feedstock in the Irish region, with animal manures making the largest contribution. Meanwhile, the areas of Almería, Jaén, and Córdoba were the main contributors of biomass in the Andalusia region, with olive residues identified as the most abundant biomass resource. This analysis also found that, while considerable feedstock divergence existed within the regions, the mapping model could act as an effective tool for collecting and interpreting the regional data on a transnational basis.

This work projects future residential electricity demand in Italy at the local (1 km grid) level based on population, land use, socio-economic and climate scenarios for the year 2050. A two-step approach is employed. In the first step, a grid-level model is estimated to explain land use as a function of socio-economic and demographic variables. In the second step, a provincial-level model explaining residential electricity intensity (gigawatt hours [GWh] per kilometre of residential land) as a function of socio-economic and climatic information is estimated. The estimates of the two models are then combined to project downscaled residential electricity consumption. The evidence suggests not only that the residential electricity demand will increase in the future but, most importantly, that its spatial distribution and dispersion will change in the next decades mostly due to changes in population density. Policy implications are discussed in relation to efficiency measures and the design of green energy supply from local production plants to facilitate matching demand with supply.